Key takeaway: A one-bedroom in Portage Park rents for about $1,500 a month in fall 2026, two-bedrooms about $1,700 to $1,800, and the 38-acre Portage Park has an Olympic-size pool with free open swim in summer.
Portage Park is on the Northwest Side around Six Corners, where Irving Park Road, Cicero and Milwaukee meet. It’s one of the most affordable neighborhoods in the city for both renting and buying a house. Its typical one-bedroom, about $1,500 a month, runs about $579 below the citywide typical of $2,079 (Zillow, September 2026), the 44th lowest of the 92 areas in our neighborhood comparison.
| Typical one-bedroom | $1,500 a month |
| Typical two-bedroom | $1,700 a month |
| Income for your own one-bedroom | About $60,000 a year |
| L lines | Blue nearby |
| Metra | Milwaukee District North, Union Pacific Northwest |
| Part of the city | Northwest Side |
On this page: Rent · Getting around · Groceries · Parks and pools · Parking · Taxes and home prices · Sample budget
Rent by apartment size
| Unit | Zumper (avg., Oct 2026) | RentHop (median, Jun 2026) | RentHop, ZIP 60641 (avg., Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,300 | $1,300 | $1,300 |
| 1 bedroom | $1,500 | $1,500 | $1,538 |
| 2 bedrooms | $1,700 | $1,800 | $2,048 |
| 3 bedrooms | $2,200 | $2,450 | $2,400 |
Source: Zumper Portage Park rent research, updated October 24, 2026; RentHop Portage Park, based on a small number of June listings; RentHop 60641, which also covers Irving Park. Sources differ because they track different listings; see why rent reports disagree.
Getting around
- L: no station inside Portage Park; the Blue Line stops at Irving Park and Jefferson Park nearby (City of Chicago list of L stops).
- Metra: Mayfair and Grayland on the Milwaukee District North Line and Irving Park on the Union Pacific Northwest Line are all close by and Zone 2: $3.75 one way or $75 a month (Metra fares). See Metra fares.
- Buses: #80 Irving Park, #85 Central, #54 Cicero, #56 Milwaukee and #91 Austin.
A 30-day CTA pass is $75 (CTA).
Groceries nearby
| Store | Address |
|---|---|
| Jewel-Osco Irving Park and Cicero | 4660 W. Irving Park Rd. |
| Jewel-Osco Irving Park and Narragansett | 6430 W. Irving Park Rd. |
| ALDI | 3930 N. Kilpatrick Ave. |
Source: each store’s own location page or locator, checked October 25, 2026. See our Chicago grocery guide. A large Target opened at 4728 W. Irving Park Rd. in March 2024 (NBC Chicago).
Parks and pools
Portage Park itself covers 38 acres at 4100 N. Long Ave., with indoor and outdoor pools including an Olympic-size pool (Chicago Park District). Open swim at Park District pools is free (Chicago Park District).
Parking
If you will have a car, check your block with the City Clerk’s zone lookup before you sign a lease. Adding a residential permit zone to your City Sticker costs $25 to $35 a year, on top of the $105.18 passenger-car sticker; our parking guide covers guest passes, meters and garages.
Property taxes and home prices
Portage Park is in Jefferson Township, last reassessed in 2024 (Cook County Assessor). The Assessor’s 2024 report put Portage Park median sale prices at $180,000 for a condo, $415,000 for a single-family home and $548,000 for a two-to-six-unit building (Cook County Assessor, 2024 Chicago report). The Treasurer put the 2024 median sale price for the Portage Park, Dunning and Jefferson Park area at $385,000, up 38.6% since 2020 (Cook County Treasurer, tax year 2024 report). Citywide, the median Chicago homeowner bill for tax year 2025, mailed in August 2026, was $4,597, up 3.2% (Cook County Treasurer).
Businesses around Six Corners are in SSA 28 (City Council ordinance). For how bills are set and how to appeal, see our property tax guide.
Portage Park cost of living: a sample monthly budget
| Setup | Rent | CTA pass | Income needed at 30% rent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your own one-bedroom | $1,500 | $75 | $60,000 |
| Half of a two-bedroom | $850 | $75 | $34,000 |
| Your own two-bedroom | $1,700 | $75 | $68,000 |
Source: our calculation from the Zumper averages above. Income needed is monthly rent times 12, divided by 0.30. For a fuller answer that includes taxes and the rest of your budget, try our Chicago salary calculator, and see Chicago move-in costs for what you’ll pay up front.
Compare every neighborhood side by side in our Chicago neighborhood cost comparison, or work out your own number with our salary calculator. More Northwest Side neighborhood profiles: Albany Park, Avondale, Belmont Cragin, Bucktown, Dunning, Edison Park, Hermosa, Irving Park, Jefferson Park, Logan Square, Montclare, Norwood Park, O’Hare, Old Irving Park and Sauganash and Forest Glen.
Costs that apply in every neighborhood: property tax bills, closing costs and condo fees, water, sewer and garbage fees, ComEd and Peoples Gas, CTA fares, parking, average salaries by job and our Chicago cost index.
Sources
- Zumper: Portage Park rent
- RentHop: Portage Park rent
- RentHop: 60641 rent
- Metra: Mayfair
- Metra: Grayland
- Metra: Irving Park
- Metra fare table
- NBC Chicago: Target opens
- Chicago Park District: Portage Park
- Chicago Park District: pools
- Cook County Assessor: Jefferson Township values
- Cook County Treasurer: tax year 2024 report
- City Council: SSA 28
- City of Chicago: list of L stops
- CTA fares
- City Clerk: City Sticker prices
- City Clerk: residential zone parking
- Cook County Assessor: 2024 Chicago report
- Cook County Treasurer: tax year 2025 analysis